Profile

Having spent five and a half years studying at university in Queensland, I decided to head overseas straight after graduation to take a gap year and explore Europe. Like most other Australians, I intended to base myself in London in order to earn a few pounds and travel as much as possible! However, before I left Australia, I had a feeling that my one year working holiday abroad would not be long enough overseas and so, before leaving home, I decided to look into the possibility of applying for training contracts in the UK.

Right from the start of my research, I was particularly impressed by Lovells. While Lovells rivalled the other big international firms in terms of its size, client calibre and resources, it seemed to have a much greater breadth of practice than most commercial law firms. Departments such as Real Estate and Dispute Resolution seemed to be well-established and respected in their own right, and not just as support teams to the Corporate and Finance groups. Being fresh out of university and unsure which area of law I wanted to pursue long term, I found this feature very appealing.

The interview process was a positive experience and I walked away from the assessment day wanting a training contract at Lovells more than ever. I was in contact with members of the Trainee Development Team during the lead up to my start date, and there were plenty of opportunities to attend future joiner events at the firm. Such contact meant turning up on day one of induction was not as daunting as it could have been!

Since starting my training contract in March 2008, I have found Lovells has lived up to all my expectations. I was placed in Real Estate Disputes during my first seat and was surprised by how much responsibility I was given from the start. I had expected that a trainee's role in a big City law firm would be mostly confined to proof reading and research, however so far this has been far from the case. In the Real Estate Department, trainees are given their own files to run and manage and client contact is therefore inevitable. It was great to feel in charge of your own work and to receive instructions directly from the client. Despite this, there was still a strong sense of being part of a bigger team and help is always at hand if needed.

I am looking forward to planning my next three seats, gaining a broader experience of the firm and possibly doing an international or client secondment.